Chasing the California Dawn

That was my plan, and it worked as well as it could today. Hooked up with InsaneDwane and " Mark "
  Forgot your handle.....

 " Mooched " a few Smelties from them at the Pier and Then Headed for Contra Costa County!!!!

 No Joke, I put some miles on today, Worked the Berkeley Flats just out from the Race Track,

 Really Slow,  saw the Dawn pick up a few here and there, and some shakers with the PB's.

I just stayed in the Shadow of the Dawn taking note how he worked the tide and the area.

 Heard some of the Monkeys Talking BS " About the Yak " Just then " Bendo!!!! "

 Nice Hali " Hey That Yaks Rod Is Bent Over!!!!"

  I hear that and I'm in my Glory....

 Comes by the boat... @ Least 20lbs

 Makes a strong run..... Hook comes Out



 Stayed slow thru the rest of the morning...

Dawn boys are Talking smack again as they drift towards me

 " Bendo Again !!!!! "  Major Sleigh Ride... drag whizzing   " Yee Haw!!! "

 Heart Was Pumping, I heard of a 40lbder taken here last week and this feels like it might beat it..

 Right in front of the Monkeys!!!!

 Ran me around for 20 30 minutes, thankfull it pulled me far from the Dawn...

 Giant Ray ....... They will never know ..

 About the ray,  Huge, Usually these things give up Right?  Not this one...

 Got him by the boat, takes another huge run, might have helped that i hooked him in the front wing but,

 What a Work out, Nice primmer the Islander...

 Wish I could have got some shot to do this Ray Justice but, none of the shots really showed his size.

Great time as usual, sorry Insanedwane and mark, but I wanted to fish the Richmond side,

 Catcha next time, thanks for the 2 lively smelts, both produced fish ..... Danglin

Nice going Dan looks like you had a awesome day out there , and fish tooboot you got to love those rays its like reeling up a sheet of plywood.

Pat R 

The old mud marlin...rays have some game!

Nice! Its almost Nov. and your still into the Halibut. Is this a strange year or have I just given up on the Hails to early in previous years. Thanks for the report and pics.

Matt

Dan - That last shot with the clouds & water is really a knockout! Just being out there is so much a part of yakkin - you are there, next to the water - very nice shot!                                              

         Bat rays, in my experience, don't just come up like a halibut might - they TAKE OFF like a frieght train and hug the bottom till the bitter end! I usually break them off on purpose cause I want to get back to fishing for stripers and that tail is a real worry when you go to unhook them. They are cool looking fish! And really strong!  Tom

Don-

I've never hooked into a ray that "gave up". Even the little suckers fought like something four times it's size. Fun fish to fight though. Bummer about the big one coming undone. Maybe next time.

Freddie

The Rays I've hooked usually, take off like a Freight train run and then slug it, then belly up ,

I guess this guys size and hooking him in the wing changed things a bit.

Might also be why he felt like a Halibut with that " Shaking Feel  " you get with a Halibut run.

 The hali's are still there, Butt, better hurry,

 I think the easy way to get to them would be the Richmond launch area,

 Either Marina harbor parkway launch and round the island on the east side and fish approx 1/2 mile out

 staying even with the highest part of the island and difting/troling staying even with the Race track,

 Or Richmond Point and head toward the South Hampton Shoal,  Mark would be half way between Angel

 Island and even with Red Rock, Live smelt work well, but most are drifting popsicles..... Danglin

Great job! You got me fired up, Im hitting somewhere after work this week.
 Paradise? Ft Baker? Muir? All within 20 min.

Could not have been a better day as far as the wether go's 

but as for the fish not one bite not one tap, but I don't care because
I picked one of the best days of the year to be on the water. At one
point the water was so flat I you could see the sky's reflection to
cool never seen it that flat at Berkeley.

checkout the pics

Cool sky shot, Don.  Good report.   

Hey InsaneDwane!!!!!

  Secure That Heiniken!!!

 I can't Believe you have not figured out a Gismo that will not only hold your beer and keep it cold,

 But Also reminds you to keep a regular pace drinking as not to let your open beer go bad


 Beer for Thought ........

I usually break them off on purpose cause I want to get back to fishing for stripers and that tail is a real worry when you go to unhook them.

No Joke there,  I grabed the hook with my pliers and he went apeshit again, almost dumped me but the hook straighten out,

Quite a rush all the way around .......Danglin

That's a picture of the Berkeley Pier.........!!!.......

Why heck man, that's my front yard. 
There aren't any fish out there...!!!...

At low tide, in places where they've dumped "dredge" from the channel...?...its like 5-feet deep.

I've given up on the "pier area" proper and when I fish the pier, which is seldom, I paddle out to the end and work my way south along the "line" where it goes to deeper water.

InsaneDuane....that "cockpit" shot....that's wunna them "white long-haired jigs" you've got hanging on your console.    I've got one of those and used it for rockfish.  I don't think I've ever caught anything on it. 

Are you using yours for Halibut?

Judd

PS....beautiful pictures.   I caught and tried to eat a ray once.   Even with my wife's cooking talents it tasted awful....like cardboard.    The "wings" are made up of closely-laid-together tapered cartiledge rods radiating from base-to-tip of the wings.   The mouth-parts are amazing....made, I think, for crushing shellfish.